“Children, Go Where I Send You” – (Natalie Merchant does a great job, but check out Nina Simone)
“Go Tell It on the Mountain” – (the Zion Harmonizers are wonderful and so is James Taylor)
“Hark! The Herald Angels Sing!” – (Vince Guaraldi or Charlotte Church)
“I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day” – (Longfellow’s poem — Sarah McLachlan’s voice is perfect for this)
“I Saw Three Ships” – (either Sting or Don Dixon)
“It Came Upon the Midnight Clear” – (Frank Sinatra, so great)
“Joy to the World” (Aretha Franklin – there’s a reason she’s the Queen)
“O Come All Ye Faithful” – (Amy Grant or Marion Williams)
“Silent Night” – (Patty Loveless or for an instrumental version check out Stanley Jordan)
“We Three Kings of Orient Are” (the Miracles)

Since I was a little girl, I’ve always tried to read a holiday themed book or 2 in honor of the seaon:

The Man who Invented Christmas by Les Standiford (2008): wonderful book about Dickens, A Christmas Carol, holiday celebrations and the 19th century publishing industryThe Autobiography of Santa Claus by Jeff Guinn (2003): great synthesis of all the “big guy” stories, the subsequent volumes get a little slowTwo from Galilee by Marjorie Holmes (1972): I read this every year when I was little….God Rest Ye Merry, Soldiers: a True Civil War Christmas Story (2005): really fascinating look at soldiers in Civil War TNAuntie Claus by Elise Primavera (1999): The girls and I read this every year — and no one wants to be on the BB&G list 🙂St. Francis & the Christmas Donkey by Robert Byrd (2000): Another perennial favorite, the beloved saint reminds a little donkey that all creatures are worthy